As riveting as the Democratic National Convention is, even the staunchest of the party faithful can use a break from reality and a taste of fantasy.
The latter was provided Tuesday when Neiman Marcus and Tamara Comolli Fine Jewelry teamed with Cindy Farber to present a lunchtime showing of fashions and jewels at Elway’s Cherry Creek. Grace Nelson, wife of U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, and Nancy Wyden, whose husband, Ron, is a U.S. Senator from Oregon, were among those admiring the exquisite diamonds, South Sea pearls and colored gemstones that make the Comolli Collection rings, bracelets, necklaces and brooches sparkle and shine. The jewels were modeled with fall fashions from such top fashion houses as Stella McCartney, Dolce and Gabbana, Escada and Roberto Cavalli.
Farber’s husband, Steve, played a key role in getting the DNC to Denver and she attended the lunch with her sister, Shelly Sapkin, and such friends as Marsha Alpert and Debbie Herz.
In her welcoming remarks, Cindy Farber admitted that while “Jewelry certainly isn’t a ‘need,’ it always makes you happy.”Nancy Sagar, spokeswoman for Neiman Marcus Cherry Creek, explained that the show came about because Tamara Comolli Fine Jewelry Collection had wanted to do something in connection with the DNC and a luncheon for participants, sprinkled with some top Neiman Marcus customers, seemed the perfect fit.
Several of the non-convention-attending guests had stories to share about meeting celebrities in town to support presumptive presidential nominee Barack Obama.Ellen Robinson Schwartz ran into actress Dana Delaney at Rockbar; Kathryn Kaiser said her husband, Jim, had been reunited with longtime friend, and former dancing partner, former Labor Secretary Alexis Herman, at a dinner Molson Coors President/CEO Leo Kiely and his wife, Susan, had for the Rev. Willie T. Barrow, chair emeritus of the Rainbow Coalition/PUSH board.
Others gathered in a private room at Elway’s Cherry Creek were Kaiser’s daughter, Lauren Andrews; Lisa Kessler; Colorado Expression publisher Terry Vitale; and Christel Dikeman, general manager of Neiman Marcus Cherry Creek.

Pictures taken at the luncheon can be viewed at denverpost.com/seengallery

Denver Post Society Editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com. She’s taking a break from the column she writes four times a week for The Post’s Life/Style section to cover DNC-related social events. Her regular column resumes Tuesday.

Ask any of the living charter members and to a woman they’ll say it doesn’t seem possible that 50 years have passed since Denver chapter of Jack and Jill of America was founded.
But in that time, the chapter has made a world of difference for young people living in the Denver area. Read more…

Elsewhere, the stars are fussin’ and fuming (think Rosie vs. The Donald, Paris Hilton’s recent falling-out with Britney Spears, and now Rosie vs. Oprah) but here in the Mile High City, no fireworks are expected when a couple of popular — and apparently well-behaved celebs — drop by to help two local charities raise money.Tony Orlando of “Tie A Yellow Ribbon” fame headlines the Latin American Educational Foundation Gala on March 10 while Blair Underwood, perhaps best known for his long-running role on “L.A. Law,” is the speaker for a May 1 luncheon put on by the Volunteers of America Guild.
Orlando will share the bill with “Mommy comic” Debi Gutierrez; former Mayor Federico Pena’s bride, the former Cindy Velasquez, is the honorary chair.
While Orlando hasn’t had a number on the charts in quite some time, folks still take notice whenever he goes out. New York Post columnist Cindy Adams, for example, had an item today saying that he’d dined at one of her favorite Chinese restaurants, Chiam.
Underwood is now co-starring on the TV comedy “The New Adventures of Old Christine.”
His appearance will help the Volunteers of America Guild mark the start of its second decade of fund-raising for the Brandon Center and Theodora House shelters that serve homeless and abused women, and their children.Susan Barnhill, Kathryn Kaiser and Kathy Klugman are chairing the luncheon; tickets can be purchased by calling 720-840-5976 or visiting VOAGreservations@hotmail.com.Society Joanne Davidson’s column appears every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday in The Denver Post. She can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com.

Study after study has shown that when it comes to charitable fundraisers, Denver has more per capita than any comparably sized city in the nation. Joanne Davidson has been covering them for The Denver Post since 1985, coming here from her native California where she'd spent the previous seven years as San Francisco bureau chief for U.S. News & World Report magazine.